Early College Academy will provide a new opportunity for students to be Future Ready

WPS’ Early College Academy will provide a new opportunity for students to be Future Ready

The Wichita Public Schools will launch a new Early College Academy at Northwest High School in the fall of 2019. The Early College Program, in partnership with Friends University, will allow students to take classes for college credit the summer before their sophomore year. When students in the program graduate from high school, they will have enough college credits for the equivalent of an associate degree and can start college as a third-year student. Board of Education members learned about the new program during the October 22 meeting. Click here to read the presentation.

“This is an amazing opportunity for our students to earn two years-worth of college credit at no cost to our families,” said Deputy Superintendent Dr. Tiffinie Irving.

“We want to provide a unique and rigorous experience for students who are motivated to get an early start to earning college credit for general requirement classes like English, math and social sciences,” said Dr. Irving. “Thanks to our partnership with Friends University, by the time they are seniors, most of their classes will be on the campus at Friends University.”

Incoming freshmen for the fall of 2019 throughout the district who are interested in the Early College Program can submit an application, which will consist of an entry essay and recommendations from teachers. The first freshman class will consist of 50 students. Applications will soon be available on Northwest High School’s website. Applications are due January 25 and notification letters will be mailed to families in the spring. Click here to get the application.

Students who are selected will start classes an hour earlier, at 7 a.m. and will end an hour earlier.

“While the times of the program will be different than the rest of the school, the students will be completely a part of the Northwest High School community,” said Northwest principal Eric Hofer-Holdeman. “The students can take advantage of all the extra-curricular activities and if they decide to participate in athletics, they will play as Northwest Grizzlies.